" ID mE UDGAVA I?El1~?St1LA, 1670-1940, . , o • by Clifford D. Basttngo , - Dep~rtment of Geography McGill "university, Montréal March, 1985 .'. A thes1s submitted to the Faculty of Graduate" Studies and Research 1n partial fulfi lIment of the requirements' for the degree of .t-1aster of Arts.' , . J copyrlght @ Cllfford D. Hastings, 1985. 1117 2$ " ABSTRACT ThlS thesis examines the' interrelationships of the global development of capitalism in three phases - mercanti1ism, a period of transition and 'laissez-faire' - a~~ the ,formation of the economic geography of Nouveau-Québec between l~O, and 1940," T~e perspecÙ ve of \) Il 'world-system theory' 1s used in conjunction wi'th primary and secondary sources to specify the forces structuring the location of fur-trad~ng posts in the Ungava peninsule during this period. ' The research' '~indings point to sorne important, but freqùently misunder~tood, changes in the network of economic relations in which the petty commodity production of the native p;oples for th7 large fur-tr~ding companies,~as'enmeshed during this period. , . \ , \ 5 H!! ; : 1, " RESUME· , Cette thèse met 'en rapport .1é développ~mént historique du , . capitalisme au niveau mondia'l ~n trois' stades' - le mecanti.lisfuè; , " ( une période de transition; ,et le, 'laiss~Z'-faire' - et le développement , " économique et spati'al du Nouveau~Québec:entre 1670 et 1940., L'optique du 'world-system theory' autant que rces pr;imaires, , , et séeondaires sont utilisées. afin de 'préciser les proe ssus " . influençaient la localisation des postes d-e tirai tC' des fourr, ~ , dans la peninsule de l'Ungava durant' ch~cu_nce 'des périodes inen,t~on . ci-:dessus: Les décou~ertès de cette recheX;éhe t'émoignent de " , cetains changements ,impor~ants mais Souvent, mal, çQmpri~, dans lé ... ~", . '\\ ti-ssu des' rapports économiques dans lequel étaiËmt pris au ple8~ les, . ~. , . auchtotones qui oCfupaient penda!lt cet te é,poque le" rÔ~'e ~e petits producteurs'de mar,c~qI}dises en faveur des 8ra~des compagnIe7. de , ' fourrures. ..; "1 , . ' , ~ 1" / .-1- \ , ~ . / / -'/ 'i ;1 a • ,/ / '/ ,')' '. , , , \p~;"'" ," , ' / A....:.. •••••••• : •.•••••••• '•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• "'. lv 1Chnptcr ' . .l::: 1 InTRODUCTIon. • . ... ... • • . • . • • . • • • . • . • . • • • . • • • 1 .) ~ . Introduction .................................. ., ............ e>................... ,1 Tho re9~on and ht'storlcal rescarch\.'(................. 2 The modern vorld-system theory.... • . • . • • . • • . 6 h' " 2 THE BRITISH MERCAliTlt.E: SYSTEM AND THE FUR l'RADE :pr RUPERT' S LAND EAST OF HUDSON' S BAy........ • • 12 Introduction ••••..•••• ~ •••••••.••••••••••••...•• :.. 12 Monopoly co~oratlon6, gritish interests and '. the Hud son '15 'Bay comparly ••••.•••••••..••••••• ," ••• Trading; practiees, 'labour and the Hudson's Day COln2any ......... : ........... (........................ Il ................... III 25 Limita ,to monopoly: compet i tion and exploration ot Eastma1n ................. 1,1 .~ ... 0 ........... '......................... .. 35 0' . " 3 COLONIAL POLley AND 'IHE FUR TRJ\DE IN' BRITISH NORTH AMERICA: FRa TRADE IN A· MERCANTILE S-YSTE~i:' C1763-1Q70) •••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••. :... 51' l ntroduct 10n .............. Il ..................... a ...... p .................... J.~ The Board of Trade and Ind1an Affa1rs ••..••.....••• Fre~ trade competitors and the protection of the Ungava front 1er •••...•••.....••....•........• 65 4 LAISSÈZ-FAIRE CAPITALISM AND THE UNGAVA P~~INSULA: ( 1970-1940 \ •..•..••.•.•.••• '. • • • • •• . • • • • • . • • • . • • • . 84 , . 1 Introduction ..... t •••••••••••••••••••••••••••• "' •••• 84 Free trade and the Nort h"'es t •••••• w • •••••••• : •••••• 85 Frac trade and the restructur1ng of the Hudson's Bay Company, 1866-1902 ••••.••••• -;; •• ~ • • • • • • • • • • • . • • • 89 Revillon Frères as innovator ••••..••. ,..•.•...•. i • • • 97 Free trade and compet 1 tion 1n the Ungava peninsula, 1903-l906............................. 102- White fox furs and the Inuit trade, 1906-1914 •.•••• 105 Market condlt1.ot\S during, and after wor1d war 1..... 108 -11- \1 J 5 CONCLUS l ON ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• 118 \ \ Introduction ........ to .............. Il •• ' •••••••••••• 'Of_ 118 \ Mercantilism, class relations and the '1 capitalist econom1c geography of ungava •...•••..•• 120 Free trade in a mercantile system ............••....• 125 Laissez-faire and the domination ot Ungava •••••••.•• 131 So:ne ~mp1icat1ons for future reGcarch ••...•.. ": ••....• 133 FOOT:f.l0TES ~ ••.•••.• ". • • • • • • • . • • • • • • . • • . • • • • • • • • • • • . • • . • . • • 143 MAPS. ••••••• •••••••• •••••• ••••••• ••••••• ••••••• ••••• •••••••• 147 BIBLIOGRAPHY~....... 4 •••••••••• •• 0 ............. " • " • f •• of ••••••• fil • •• • 156 -iii- Hap , 1.1 ,pol1tiC4l1 Gcography of uouvcilu-Ouébcc,. 1670-1912...... HO (!- 2..1 Hudoon'c Bay company pOCt3, 1610-1763 •••••....•.. : ... 119 3 LI YaG\lnn1pi-M1::;tnss1n1 Rcgion: Hudson f 0 Bay , ,', company po~tc, clrca 1800 ••• = ........... : ............ °150 3.2 north Waot company ponta 1 circa 1805 ••. '" ............ : 151 , 3.3 Hudrion' c Bay Company ungav'a/Labratfor poste 1 1930-1860.......................................... 152 4.1 post devëlopmcnt, ungava pen1nsula, 1870-1940 ..... "'GI •••••••••••• qo ........................ .j, 153 4.2 Revillon Fière::> co:npany poste, 1'903-1923.............. 154 5.1 Spatial expansion of the .fur trade 1n the threc ph~oe::; 'of Us devclopmcnt.................. 155 l' l .. The scope .and nature of the 5ub)ect under, study' requ1red" a consrclerable arnount of extra research \o1h~ch has not been lncorporated lnto the text, yet \o1h~ch \o1as fundamental to my broader understand~ng of the gh~es of çapl~al~st development and their spatlal manlfestatlons, as 1 have deflned them ln the fQllo\o11pg pages: To relate these broader' nlstoncal developments to the speclflc context of, capltahst development ln the ungàvp penlnsula, and, ~bove aIl, to tee1 comtortable wlth_ attemptl?9 such an analyslS,~requlred tlme for reflectlon, tlme for research and t~me for dlalogue ~lth lntereSLed and-sympath~tlc people. Over the past few years, m,any peopl e have been used as soundlng 1 .~, boards for w.y tn~ughts. To aIl of them, ln ?artlcular Brlan Umansky and -Flona Colgan, l express my 5lncere thal'lks. T\o10 people who have , contnbuted ta the shaplng of both the theoret~cal and the emp~rlëal -nature of the - vorX, deservea especlal ment~èn. TO rr,y ,advlsor, D~. John H. Bradbury 1 l express my S lncerest thanks, and gratl tude for maklng me teel at ease \o1lth my \o1ork and for 'be~ng understandlng enough ,to allow me - the tlme to pull together my thoughts many of WhlCh had been precipitated by the. cou!se he ~aught vith- Dr. Ruth F~ncher ln 1981 on theory an~ human geography ln cap~tallst SOcletles. H~s support and -v- , theoretical advice loIas invaluable. Dr. Damaris acted as my 'honorary co-adv1sor' for several months. She proved to be exceptionaIry. c;::o~etent not only in theory and crit~cal appraisal but als~ in the more te-chnical fields of ed1.ting and des1gnlng' the fortat , for computer pr1l1tout. TO her l express my deepest thanks, s1nce in no \ loIay vas she obI ~ged tq cornmi t 50 mu ch Ume to rny 1oI0rk. Her support in- ? , the preparation of this "thesl.s helped it to..,ard completion. l 1oI0uld also' like to vholeheartedly thank both Diane Hastings and . Dr. Rose for commttting' their effort'G and their val uable Ume ~o typ1ng , the lion' s share of th'~s thesis into theo MUSIC system. In addition, may r thank Corne ha Karkossa for doing such a splendid jOb on the production, df Maps. 1.1, .2.1; 3.1, 3.• 2. and 3.3, and the preparat ion for reproductl.on of Maps 4.1 and 4.2. Many thanks are also due to the staff at the MCGil1 Computlng Centre ...,hose·· te.chn i ca 1 assistance .... as fundamental to the production of the theSls. l am also deeply grateful to the 1ate Mra. Jean Satterford and 'Ms. Anne'Kendrick f9r their strong ,,' adminlstrative, support and consi~terit good ..,ill,.. : (' l ",oula: 1 ike to acltn~lJledge the grant offered to me by ~tltung vol kSlJag enwerk. lJithl.n - the umbrella p~o)ect", 'EthnlClty PrOblems ln Ontario and Québec' .(1981-2) professer L. Müller-101ille MCGill ~.; Universl ty co-ordinator; the Department of Ind1an and Northern Affairs .J - student research grant -(19él) i . apd ,MCGill (ln1versl ty ~ummer research grant (1980)-. To H~S. Shirley smifh, dlrector of the Hudson's Bay Archives in Winnipeg, th?'ataff j1t the P~bl1.c~Archives of Canada and the \ Ang.lican M1S'sionary -ArChlv~s in .Toronto, l express my. deepest gra-titude. -vi- Finally 1 l "'ould like to, thank my mother and the rest of my f amlly 1 who were most supportl. ve during the last fe .... montfs of the thesis: especlally Damaris, who vas the OIW most subjected to my lack of l1umour i f and Chloe and Madron l ",hose penchant for sl't t 1ng on paper pt;"otected me from the te:r;ror of the' empty page on many a night. Since the formulation and presentation of thl.s thesis i~ ultimately the l~nC"lusion of my personal struggles in attempting to understand - \) processes of transition in a reglon, any errors' and shortcomings are / . / mine and mine alone. l .... ould like to exoneraté aIl those who have . proffered advice and cr1ticism of the thesis from any and all shortcomlngs which may exist. Clifford D. Hastings Montréal, March 1985., \ \ -1- o o 0IAP'l'ER 1 IlmtODtJC'l'IOlI .. Introduction Today